What if my slip and fall injury was on my landlord’s property, at work, or at a public mall? How does the location affect the legal process?
Usually, property owners have liability insurance in the event someone is injured on their property. You need to speak with an attorney regarding the severity of the injury and whether liability is in question. An experienced attorney, like those working for Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp& Duffan would investigate and research who the responsible party is, and get details about the insurance coverage of the other party or their carrier that they may not be willing to provide to you directly.A location where a slip and fall injury can commonly occur is an apartment building. If the slip and fall injury occurred in a common area where the landlord has control such as a hallway, parking lot, elevator, etc. the landlord may be liable. On the other hand, if the tenant who slipped and fell created the danger such as leaving items around the stairwell and it impedes another individual, then the tenant is liable. As a tenant, you may be liable for injuries if someone slips on a loose and worn-down carpet in your apartment. Nevertheless, the landlord may share responsibility if they were aware of the loose carpet and failed to fix it.Do not hesitate to make a claim against your landlord for fear of disturbing the relationship or facing eviction. This is a good reason why you need to get an injury lawyer to handle the matter more objectively.Injuries at the workplace potentially have additional complications. In some instances, you can’t sue your supervisor. For example, in Virginia, workers compensation is the primary source of financial compensation for an employee injured on the job, but filing a lawsuit against your employer is prohibited. However, the worker can collect workers compensation and sue a third party whose negligence contributed to the injury. A slip and fall injury at a public mall could be challenging when trying to determine who is at fault. This is because there are various levels of ownership and management. For example, there may be a store owner, a mall management company, and a corporate ownership entity. Again, an experienced attorney would be extremely helpful in determining which entity or company is at fault.
About the editors: The motto at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp& Duffan law firm is simple -“All we do is injury law.” We hope you were able to find the answer to your injury query. If not, please review our Virginia Accident Lawyer FAQ Library for additional information. If you’d like to speak to an actual attorney about your potential injury claim for free, please contact our office at (833) 997-1774.
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